Admiral Roundies - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Oldstuff78 · #1 06-30-2008, 08:37 PM

I just wanted to ask, does anyone own or have ever seen any Admiral Roundies like the ones in this 1964 Ad ? I like the Provincial style model on the left. It is knows as the "Chanceford". I have this same Ad, that I plan on framing and hanging up in my work room.

It seems like Admirals don't turn up that often.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Admiral-Color-TV...2em118Q2el1247

bgadow · #2 06-30-2008, 08:55 PM

Always seems like the ones you see in the old ads are the ones you can never find! I did once have a set very similiar to the one on the left. Mine had a different cabinet-no legs, the more "modern" style that went all the way to the floor. A set I should have kept but instead junked after briefly playing with it c.1991.

Oldstuff78 · #3 06-30-2008, 10:13 PM

I noticed that too about sets you see in Ad's. I saw a 63 french provincial Zenith in an Ad called "The Rochelle" that had double speakers and Space Command remote. You could tell it was cream of the crop for 63. I doubt anyone will ever run across that set either.

As for Admirals, to me they are a rare bird. I don't think I have ever come face to face with an Admiral console.

radiotvnut · #4 06-30-2008, 10:39 PM

The Admirals that I ran into were older B&W consoles from the 50's, a few B&W tube portables from the '60's, a 12" color hybrid set from the early '70's, and a couple of late '70's 19" solid state color sets. I have never laid eyes on an Admiral color roundie or any large screen Admiral tube color set. I guess they didn't hold up that well or they just were not common in my area. Zenith and RCA were by far the most common vintage TV finds around here. We all know those two brands were good and many of them were still in use even in the '90's.

*zenithfan1* · #5 07-01-2008, 09:04 AM

I have a '65 Admiral roundie called the "Rutledge", I wish I had one like the one in the ad. Like Bryan said, Why are the ones in the ads are so hard to find?

Jeffhs · #6 07-01-2008, 11:08 AM

I don't remember seeing very many (if any) Admiral roundies here, even in the trash, but my aunt and uncle in Cleveland had a 15" Admiral rectangular-tube color portable in the 1960s. Here in northeastern Ohio, Zenith always seemed to be a popular brand of TV and radio/stereo, at least in the neighborhood I grew up in (the local TV dealer carried mostly Zenith and I always seemed to find old Zenith TVs, more than any other make, in the neighbors' trash). For some reason, I'll be darned if I know why, Admiral never quite "clicked" with folks in this area.

Perhaps it was because Admiral may have been more popular in certain parts of the U.S. than in others; this happens (or used to, anyway) with certain brands.

bgadow · #7 07-01-2008, 09:40 PM

zenithfan, that's a sharp one! Admiral had a decent following around here, but most of them are long gone. When lots of tube stuff was being trashed in the early 90s I had a whole line of 'em, but only the one roundie. I wonder if a lot of them didn't get trashed because Admiral was out of the TV business after 1980 and repair shops instantly told people they were obsolete? They did rank pretty high in sales volume at one time.